


Pink Hair & Coffee Beans

by Lily_PinkSpider



Category: BUCK-TICK, Jrock, X JAPAN, hide with Spread Beaver
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Light-Hearted, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23074033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_PinkSpider/pseuds/Lily_PinkSpider
Summary: Hide is a popular 20-something, well-known in the scene around town. He knows everyone...except the undeniably attractive man who presented himself in the cafe that morning. Atsushi is a relative newcomer--handsome, soft-spoken, and an unknown entity. While it took a lot to get Hide more than casually interested, could this alluring stranger be the one to relight his fire?Hide capitalized for ease of reading.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Published in honor of Sakurai-san's birthday!

The morning at the coffee shop was dragging by at a snail’s pace. It was unseasonably hot for this time of year which had the effect of chasing a good number of regular customers down to the smoothie shop instead.

“Hide, would you mind stocking the shelves while we’re slow? It’ll get some of those extra boxes out of the backroom that I’ve been tripping over,” the manager said, looking at his assistant.

“Sure Kyo-chan, no problem,” the young man answered and dutifully headed to the back to retrieve a couple of boxes. While he was back there he also grabbed the stepladder so that he could reach the top shelves.

“Need some help there, Munchkin?” Hiro, everyone’s favorite smartass asked with a smirk.

“No thanks!” Hide responded back over his shoulder with just a touch of attitude in his voice. “My short ass can climb a ladder.”

Once he’d gotten out to the merchandise shelves, he set up the stepladder and started filling the shelves with colorful ceramic cups and tall travel mugs. Nothing breakable was stocked very high off the floor though—that was reserved for the overstock of somewhat softer items like seasonal stuffed toys or extra bags of the whole bean coffee blends that the shop sold. ‘Things that will bounce’ as Hide referred to them and that’s what he was currently in the process of filling the top shelves with. A full box of French Roast and another of Italian Roast had shown up on the truck three days ago and had been underfoot ever since. Kyo was threatening to fill the break room with all the overstock if the employees didn’t either sell it or find a place for it soon.

The door chime had sounded multiple times while Hide had been on the ladder so he was now trying to hurry and finish so that he could get back behind the counter and help with the coffee orders. Glancing around his feet, he noticed that the line had stretched back a ways.

“I just wish these…bags…would sit…up!” he mumbled loudly to himself as a couple of the rows he was trying to construct fell over owing to the rounded bottom of a few of the coffee bags. He narrowly kept a couple from tumbling forward off the shelf, but his sharp movement had unfortunately started a domino effect with the unsteady items and they began rolling forward and cascading off the shelves.

“Shit shit shit!” Hide exclaimed while trying to catch the falling bags of coffee, looking like an overwhelmed juggler. “Sorry!” he said by way of apology to the customers below who were getting pelted.

He put the bags he managed to catch back on the shelf and then took a few from a regular customer who was handing them up to him.

“Thank you, Suzuki-san…sorry about that.”

Descending the remaining couple of steps to the floor, Hide snatched up the rest and tossed them back into the box, intending to try again later.

“Here’s a few more,” a deep, soft voice said causing him to look up into the face of an amused stranger who was holding out the laptop in his arms, four bags of coffee laying on top.

Hide felt himself blush and he let out a chuckle as he retrieved the French Roast bags from the tall young man.

“I’m so sorry about that. These things seem to have minds of their own!”

The man laughed. “It’s okay—really. I was after some coffee to help me wake up…this certainly did it!” he said while rubbing the top of his head and grinning.

Hide couldn’t help but be struck by how attractive this stranger was and he was momentarily frozen, gazing up into the man’s large, dark eyes. The door chime startled him out of his daze.

“Umm…again, I’m so sorry. You’re not hurt are you?” he asked, taking the ladder in his hands to close it up.

“Oh no, I’m fine. I’m told I have a pretty hard head anyway. It’d take more than coffee beans,” the man responded, still smiling.

“Well, your coffee is on me this morning, for sure. What’ll you have?” Hide asked, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.

“Caramel latte with whip?”

“You got it. What name should I put on it?” the pink-haired man asked, hoisting the ladder.

“It’s Atsushi. Thank you, Hide.”

“No problem. Go on and have a seat. I’ll bring it out to you,” he said, returning the smile.

He watched the stranger go and find a table as he began to pull the shots for the caramel latte. Glancing down, he was glad that he’d worn his name tag for a change.

_‘Hmm, he’s wearing scrubs and his hair is up in a man bun. Definitely from the hospital. Wonder if he’s new—never seen him before,’_ Hide thought while frothing milk.

Atsushi glanced over at Hide behind the counter and smiled at him, catching him looking.

_‘Dammit…’_ Hide thought and looked away, but found he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the good-looking stranger he now knew as Atsushi. As soon as the drink was ready, he took it and a fresh sweet bun over to the man who was intently reading something on his laptop.

“Here we go—thought you could use a little something to nibble on too,” Hide said, placing the small plate next to the coffee.

“Oh, how nice of you—thanks,” the dark man said, looking up at Hide with a warm smile.

“It’s the least I could do since I bombed you with French Roast,” he replied with a chuckle. “Work at the hospital, I take it?”

Atsushi nodded. “Yep. I’m a vampire,” he said, deadpan.

Hide cocked his head to the side. “Vampire?”

Atsushi laughed at the reaction he got. “I’m a phlebotomist—lab assistant. I take blood samples from patients.”

“Ah…okay,” Hide responded. “I was about to start examining your teeth!”

The dark man laughed again and waggled his eyebrows.

“Well, enjoy your coffee! Let me know if you need anything,” Hide said with a smile and headed back to the counter to help with the coffee orders. He really wanted nothing more than to stay and talk to his new friend, but thought Kyo and the rest of the staff might have something to say about that.

All through the mini-rush they had for the next fifteen minutes, Hide kept stealing glances over at Atsushi who was still absorbed by whatever he was reading on his laptop, the pastry slowly disappearing.

_‘I wonder how long his hair is when it’s down? I didn’t see a ring—wonder if he’s attached? Vampire, huh? He could bite my neck anytime,’_ was only a few of the things running through his mind while he worked.

A little while later, Hide saw Atsushi look down at his phone and then reach up and close his laptop. He got up, disposed of his trash, and gathered his things to go. The pink-haired man tried not to be obvious, but he found himself watching every move the man made. It wasn’t until he noticed Atsushi walking toward the counter that he tried to find something else to do so as not to look so obvious.

“Hide,” the dark man said from the other side of the pastry case.

Hide’s pink head popped up like he was surprised to hear his name.

“Yes? Oh, hi there,” he responded, trying to sound casual.

“Just wanted to say thank you again for the coffee and the bun. I’m headin’ off to work now.” He gave Hide a nice smile.

“Oh well, you’re very welcome. Sorry about assaulting you with coffee beans,” Hide said with a chuckle.

The tall man just laughed and shook his head. “Probably more exciting than work will be. See you later!” he said and headed out the door after slipping his sunglasses on.

Hide couldn’t help but watch him go, noticing how shapely Atsushi’s ass was in those thin scrub pants.

Next morning, Hide was in to work extra early. He startled Kyo badly when he slipped up behind him while the blonde was unlocking the door.

“Holy shit, Hide! Don’t fuckin’ do that!” Kyo exclaimed, hand on his chest like he was having a heart attack.

Hide chuckled and ducked should his manager and good friend decide to swing at him. “Sorry, Kyo! I thought you heard me!”

Kyo took a couple more deep breaths and shook his head. “Nope, not a sound. Your hair might be loud, but I didn’t hear a thing…what the fuck are you doing here this early anyway?”

Hide shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d come on in early. Don’t mind, do ya?” he asked, following the blonde into the café.

“Oh no, not at all. Hopefully we’ll be busier this morning than we were yesterday anyway.”

Thirty minutes later, Hiro and Mei came in to get ready for their shift and, as per usual, Hiro had to make comments.

“You’re very early today, Hide. What’s up?” he asked.

The pink-haired man looked up from the pastry case that he was stocking. “Nothing. Couldn’t sleep and decided to come on in, that’s all.”

“Uh huh…that’s why you did your hair up and put on eyeliner…” Hiro quipped, grinning at his assistant manager. “And that’s a new t-shirt too, isn’t it?”

“No…it’s just a shirt from Kyo’s band. Thought I’d show a little support. You?” Hide retorted, hands on hips.

Hiro just shook his head and went about his business, laughing to himself. He knew he’d caught Hide in something, he just wasn’t sure what…yet.

Just as the usual morning crowd was thinning out, Hide looked up to see Atsushi standing in the back of the short line. He flashed Hide a smile when their eyes met.

_‘YES! He showed up again…’_ Hide thought to himself and tried not to drop the carton of milk he was carrying. When the tall man finally made it up to the counter, Hide made sure he was at the register.

“Good morning! Nice to see that I didn’t frighten you off yesterday,” he chirped with a broad smile. “Same again?”

“Oh no, I take more frightening than that. You actually remember my order?” Atsushi asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Sure do. Gimme a couple minutes and I’ll have it right out.”

After paying for his drink, Atsushi smiled and nodded and then snagged a table not far away to open up his laptop. He glanced back over at Hide momentarily and then opened the file he needed.

_‘Pink hair, that’s brave. And not just pink…briiiight pink. He is rather cute though,’_ Atsushi thought to himself and grinned.

_‘Do I remember your order? Of course I remember your order, Mr. Hotness… I’m just glad you came back,’_ Hide thought while making Atsushi’s latte.

As they weren’t busy at the moment, Hide took the coffee out to his customer and sat it down beside the laptop. He caught a glimpse of the video that Atsushi was watching and all it took to make him flinch was for him to see a large needle being inserted into an arm.

“Oh damn…what are you watching?” he asked, a grimace on his face.

Atsushi turned to see Hide standing right beside him, looking at the image on the laptop screen.

“Oh, it’s a training video. I’m studying to specialize in pediatric phlebotomy. You know, kids are always afraid of needles so someone who specializes can make it easier on them.”

“Not just kids…I freakin’ _hate_ needles,” Hide said with a little shiver.

“Oh, it’s not that bad! I bet I could slip it right in and you’d never even feel it,” Atsushi responded and then realized what he’d said. It was too late, Hide was already giggling. “That didn’t come out right…”

Hide patted him on the shoulder. “Oh…if I wasn’t at work…I wish I could say what I want to say right now…” he managed to get out while still giggling.

Atsushi just bowed his head and laughed. “I can imagine…oh god, that was bad.”

“That’s the best laugh I’ve had in days…thank you!” Hide said and walked back behind the counter, a big smile still on his lips.

Atsushi tried to just drink his coffee and watch his video, but the mood was gone. He couldn’t concentrate now. He got up and went to the counter.

Hide started grinning as soon as he saw him. “Yes?” he asked, stifling a giggle.

“I can’t study now, I may as well eat something. How about a bun?”

Hide was still trying not to laugh. “Sure, no problem. Would you like this big, round, firm one here…or this looong one over here?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

Atsushi closed his eyes and shook his head a bit, but he couldn’t keep from smiling. Leaning in a little closer, he whispered, “I’ll have the looong one.”

Hide felt himself twitch slightly as he watched the man’s full lips say those words being as close as he was. _‘Damn…he’s fuckin’ gorgeous…’_

“Alrighty, coming right up,” Hide whispered back slowly and then laughed as he slid back the door.

_‘Such a bad boy…so cute though…’_ Atsushi thought as he waited for his pastry.

“Here you go and here’s a napkin too. These things can be messy,” Hide said quietly, locking eyes with the beautiful man across the counter.

“Thank you, Hide,” he said, taking the small plate. He gave the pink-haired man a sly smile and then went and sat back down at his table.

Hide picked up a towel and stepped over to clean the back counter when Kyo showed up.

“Who’s the hottie?” he leaned in and whispered, wagging his eyebrows.

“Hmmm? What?”

“Oh come on, don’t play innocent with me,” Kyo responded, not believing for a moment that Hide didn’t know exactly who he was referring to. It was unusual for his friend to show so much interest. In their circle of friends, Hide could have pretty much anyone he wanted, but he hadn’t been all that interested in dating since his last breakup.

Hide smiled shyly. “His name’s Atsushi. He works at the hospital.”

“Niiiice…you should ask him out,” Kyo suggested, trying to encourage his good friend. He hated seeing him alone.

“Hmmm…I just might do that,” Hide said with a big smile.

Hiro wandered by and casually tossed his bar towel onto his shoulder. “Knew it,” was all he said and kept on moving.

“Asshole,” Hide mumbled.

Kyo just laughed and walked over to take a customer’s order.

“I’m taking my break now,” Hide sort of half asked/half announced a little while later. He took a deep breath and made himself go before he lost his nerve.

Walking over to Atsushi, he leaned down. “Do you smoke?” When the man nodded, he motioned for him to follow. The tall man stood, grabbed up his laptop, and followed Hide through the counter area and out the back door to where the employees took their smoke breaks.

From his apron pocket, Hide pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Offering one to his new friend first and then taking one himself, he lit both and then took a seat at the little umbrella-covered table.

“You gonna tell me now?” Atsushi asked, giving Hide a sly smile while leaning casually against the wall.

_‘Damn, he’s got legs for days. Must be nearly 6’ tall…’_ the pink-haired man thought to himself and then cocked his head to the side when he realized an answer was expected from him. “Hmmm?”

“Well, you said you couldn’t say what you wanted to earlier because you were at work, so…”

“Oh, that. Umm, I don’t think you really want to hear what went through my mind,” Hide responded, chuckling.

“Sure I do,” Atsushi said with a cheeky smile, but the pink-haired man wouldn’t budge.

“Don’t know you well enough yet to show you how dirty-minded I can be…maybe later.”

Sitting down beside Hide, Atsushi crossed his legs almost like he was striking a pose. _‘He sure has nice eyes…so big and expressive. Maybe it’s the eyeliner. Did he have on eyeliner yesterday? I can’t remember. Couldn’t get past the hair…’_

“’Yet’ being the operative word? Planning to keep me around for a bit?” Atsushi asked with a single raised eyebrow.

_‘Don’t fuck this up, Hide. Let him know you’re interested but don’t scare him off,’_ Hide counseled himself silently.

“Well…” he started but paused to take a draw off his cigarette. “I’d like to. You seem like a lotta fun. Bet you’d get my sense of humor—some people don’t.”

_‘That’s it. Easy does it. Baby steps,’_ Hide thought.

“I have a bit of a dark, twisted sense of humor myself. Comes from sticking needles in people day after day, I suppose,” Atsushi countered. “I really need to get into some voodoo.”

Hide looked at him like he’d grown an extra head. “Voodoo?”

“Yeah, I mean…who knows more about sticking needles in things than someone like me? I’d be a pro with a voodoo doll,” the tall man said with a laugh that was contagious.

“I could make a doll of you, no problem: spiky pink hair, big eyes, a bit of eyeliner, pink lips, and a cute little body with a couple of tattoos wearing a tour shirt. Easy,” he continued with a laugh. “Which band is that anyway? I don’t recognize the name.”

Hide had to look down to recall which shirt he’d pulled on that morning. “Oh, this is Kyo’s band—my manager—the tall blonde. He’s their singer.”

“Any good?” Atsushi asked, sounding interested.

“Yeah, they are. They play locally once or twice a month—you should go to their next show!”

“Might do that. I’m always down for some good music.”

“Good, you can go with all of us from the café next time. I think they have a show coming up in a couple of weeks,” Hide said and then checked his phone. “Damn, I gotta go back. Breaks are never long enough.” He stood up and stretched his back a bit.

Atsushi looked at his phone too and realized he needed to make a move soon himself.

“Yeah, I better get started toward the hospital—got a long shift today,” he said with an eye roll. “At least I’m off tomorrow. Gonna sleep till after lunch!”

“So no caramel latte with whip tomorrow then,” Hide said with a smile.

“No, not tomorrow. Probably the day after though! Listen, let me know for sure when Kyo’s next show is and I’ll try to make sure I’m off work that evening. I haven’t been out to see a band play in quite a while—it’ll be fun!” Atsushi said as he stood up and stretched a little himself. He took out his wallet and dug around for a moment, then pulled out the card he’d been looking for. “Here, that’s one of my old cards, but the cell number on there is correct. Call or text me when you find out, okay?” he said with a smile and they parted ways for the day, Hide again closely watching that shapely posterior as Atsushi left the café.

Excusing himself to go to the restroom to wash up, Hide felt like a high school kid whose crush had given them their number. He waited until he got into the men’s room and locked the door before really looking at the card he’d been given. And there it was…full name and cell phone number.

‘Sakurai Atsushi’ it said. ‘Freelance Model’ it also said.

“Model…I fuckin’ knew it! Too damn gorgeous not to be!” he said aloud to the tile. “What the hell am I gonna do with a freakin’ model??” He thought about that for a moment and a wicked expression started across his face. “Hmmm…actually, I could make a fuckin’ _list_!”

The man thought about things for a couple of minutes and then did his own little happy dance in front of the mirror.

“’Cute little body’ he said. I heard him, even though I didn’t act like it. Gaawwwd, I could climb him like a fuckin’ tree!” he said out loud and then thought he’d better reign himself in a bit and get back to work before Kyo—or worse, Hiro—came looking for him. He stashed the card safely in his wallet, splashed some cold water on his face and the back of his neck, and then got back to being the star barista.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that afternoon, Hide had gotten off work and was on his way home, thinking about contacting Atsushi concerning Kyo’s next gig.

_‘Call or text? Call or text? Why am I so nervous about this? What is wrong with me?’_ he thought as he walked toward his apartment, looking at his phone. He had already taken the step of saving his new friend’s name and number in his contacts.

_‘Wait…he said he had a long shift today. With my luck, I’d call him right in the middle of stabbing a patient with one of his needles. Better text him,’_ Hide decided and took a seat on the next bench he came to. He took a deep breath and started typing.

‘Hi Atsushi it’s Hide. Kyo’s band is playing a week from Friday at a club not 2 far from the café called Live Wire. Hope u can come with us! Text/call me back!’ he finally settled on and after reading over it at least three times, he made himself press ‘Send’.

_‘Okay, that’s done. Damn, I hope he can come,’_ he thought to himself as he slipped his phone into his back pocket and stepped into the market to pick up something for his dinner.

Not ten minutes later as Hide was looking through the bento boxes, he heard his text notification and felt his back pocket vibrate.

_‘Please be him, please be him,’_ he thought as he reached back and pulled out his phone. A smile spread across his face and he couldn’t open the message fast enough.

‘Hi Hide—thanks 4 letting me know! I’ll check my work sched and let u know in just a bit. Going on my dinner break soon!’ Atsushi said in his text.

_‘Okay, so far so good. Fingers crossed!’_ Hide thought and grabbed up his dinner choices.

Heading into his apartment and dropping his shopping bags onto the counter, Hide kicked off his shoes and went to change clothes. Reeking of coffee was highly preferable to reeking of stale beer or, god forbid, fish—he’d had experience with both—but once his shift was over he had to get away from the smell.

_‘Clothes in the hamper, good. Fresh t-shirt and track pants, better_. _Now for dinner!’_ Hide thought and headed back into the kitchen, flipping on his TV as he walked by.

Halfway through his dinner, his phone went off again.

‘Me again. So good news/bad news. I’m currently on the schedule to work that night BUT one of my guys here is a friend and he owes me! Hopefully I can get him to switch shifts with me,’ Atsushi texted.

Hide hit the table with his fist and a loud “Shit!”, but he was hopeful that the shift switch would happen.

‘Damn. Okay, hopefully you can get it worked out. I think you’d love it!’ Hide responded.

‘I really want to go. I need to get out more and I know it’d be fun! I’ll work it out one way or another. Thanks for inviting me!’

‘No problem, Atsushi!’

‘You’ll have to help me decide what to wear—never been to this place before. Oh and btw, call me Acchan. All my friends do,’ the tall, dark man responded.

“Acchan, huh? I can definitely do that!” Hide said aloud to no one in particular. “And just give me a chance to dress you…or undress you…Acchan.”

‘Sure, I’ll help with wardrobe, but you’re the model…I’m sure you have some great clothes! Just something for a rock club,’ Hide texted back.

‘Cool, I can do that. Better go—break is nearly over. Have a good night—talk soon!’ Acchan responded.

‘Thanks, you too! Enjoy your day off tomorrow!’ Hide finished.

“So where’s your handsome boy? Didn’t see him yesterday,” Hiro asked Hide with a sly grin. “Not tired of us already is he?”

Hide rolled his eyes. “No…he was in this morning…you must’ve missed him. Yesterday was his day off.”

“Yeah, he was here earlier. Told me how much he was looking forward to seeing my band,” Kyo added.

“So he’s going too, huh?” Hiro asked with a grin.

“Hope so. Depends on his work schedule. That’s not a problem for you I hope, is it Hiro?” Hide asked while cleaning up the back bar.

“Oh no, no…just asking! Don’t get so touchy, Pinky,” Hiro quipped with a laugh and walked off to wait on a customer.

“Smartass,” Hide mumbled, but had to chuckle to himself. _‘How is he going to act if Acchan and I actually start dating? Oh man, I can just hear it now!’_ he thought.

Problem was, he got to thinking about Acchan a little too much and got a bit clumsy with the utensils he was handling. The hot, soapy water made everything more slippery and before he knew what was happening, two large knives slipped out of his hands and were on a crash course with the floor. Without thinking, Hide grabbed for the knives and unfortunately, caught one right in the palm of his hand. A hot, sharp pain shot right up his arm and he dropped the knife to the floor wishing he’d just let it fall in the first place. Immediately, blood began to stream from the fresh cut and drip off his hand.

“Ow ow ow ow! Dammit!” the pink-haired man cursed.

Kyo reached him just then and grabbed him by the wrist, pushing the man’s injured hand under the cold water he’d just turned on.

“It’s okay…it’s okay…be calm,” the blonde said to his good friend, seeing the shock on his face. “Mei! Bring me a couple of clean towels please!”

The girl did as she was asked and as soon as Kyo was convinced that all the soap was out of the wound, he pulled Hide’s hand out of the water and examined the cut.

“How bad is it?” Hide asked, almost afraid to look. The sight of blood turned his stomach. The cold water had dulled the sharp pain a bit, but it still hurt.

“Not too bad. The cut isn’t terribly long but it’s a bit deep,” Kyo responded and immediately stuck his friend’s hand back under the water when it started to bleed again.

He cleaned off the wound a second time and then pressed a clean towel to it, holding pressure on and elevating Hide’s hand in an attempt to get the bleeding to stop. He looked into his friend’s face and smiled at him.

“It’ll be fine, don’t you worry. Come on, let’s walk back to the break room,” Kyo said softly, not wanting the customers to see what was going on. “The first aid kit is there anyway.”

Once Kyo had gotten Hide sitting down and the pressure had nearly stopped the bleeding, the blonde applied some antibacterial ointment and then wrapped the wound tightly.

“Okay, let’s see if that’ll hold it. If not, we may need to take you to have it looked at. Probably should anyway. Does it still hurt?”

Hide nodded. “It’s not unbearable but it still stings and burns. At least the knife was clean when it cut me, just soapy.”

Twenty minutes later, Hide came out of the break room where he’d been lying on the couch and found Kyo. The bleeding hadn’t stopped and the man looked a bit pale.

“Kyo…” he called, sounding worried. Holding up his hand, it was obvious that he had bled through the bandages. “I think we’d better go get this looked at.”

The blonde took one look and nodded. Tarelyn, the other assistant manager was there, so Kyo handed off to him and grabbed his bag from the office.

“Come on, let’s get that taken care of,” he said to his injured friend.

“Kyo, you don’t have to take me. One of the other guys can,” Hide said, wincing at the pain coming from his hand.

“No, no…I’m taking you and I don’t want to hear anything else about it. Besides, I need to get out of here for a while,” the blonde said with a grin and a wink.

Up at the hospital, Hide was seen by one of the doctors and had to have a few stitches put in his hand to assure the bleeding would stop. Once he was stitched and bandaged up, the doctor sent him down to the lab to have some blood drawn to complete a couple of tests. There was some question as to why his blood didn’t seem to be clotting fast enough.

After being called back inside the lab, Hide sat and waited all the while getting more and more nervous. He hadn’t been kidding when he told Acchan that he hated needles. Just as he was about to skip out on the tests and make a run for it, the lab tech came over to him and started asking questions and checking his patient wristband.

Before he could really get started though, a familiar face walked by and then stopped short.

“Hide?!”

The pink-haired man looked up and his eyes opened wider. “Acchan, hey!”

“What are you doing here? You okay?” the tall man asked, seeing his friend’s bandaged hand.

“Little mishap at the café—wouldn’t stop bleeding, so here I am,” Hide said, still looking nervous.

Acchan leaned down to the tech. “Aki, let me take this one, okay? He’s a friend.”

The other tech smiled and nodded and then got up. “I’ll leave you in Sakurai-san’s capable hands,” he said and then went off to help the next patient.

Acchan slid into the seat and looked at Hide’s file. He then gently took Hide’s bandaged hand into his own and looked at it.

“Not clotting well, huh? Do you usually bleed a lot when you get cut?” the lab tech asked.

“Well…I haven’t been cut in a long time but yeah, when I was a kid I used to bleed a fair bit when I scraped my knees and elbows,” Hide responded.

“Okay, best to find out what’s going on before anything else happens. It’s a simple blood test, so I won’t need to take much of a sample. Just a couple of small vials, alright?” Acchan said softly.

_‘Dammit. Don’t act like a baby in front of him. Be cool…’_ Hide thought to himself at the thought of having blood drawn.

“Yeah, okay…” the pink-haired man said in a small voice. He didn’t want to act afraid, but he just couldn’t help it.

“Hide…I know you don’t like needles. I understand…it’s okay. I deal with patients every single day that feel just like you do. Remember what I said to you at the café?” Acchan asked with a wink and a cheeky grin.

“Hmm? No…” Hide answered, his mind clearly not on the same wavelength as Acchan’s.

The tall, dark man leaned in close and whispered, “I bet I could slip it right in and you’d never feel it” and then sat back with a laugh.

Hide’s eyes opened wider and he began to laugh as well remembering the situation.

“Oh yeah! You turned three shades of red!”

“I’m sure I did!” Acchan said, still chuckling. “Now, do you trust me?” he asked quietly, looking into Hide’s anxious eyes.

“I want to…” the pink-haired man answered.

“Okay then, let’s just get this over with quickly. I promise I’ll be extra gentle, alright?” Acchan said, taking out the various items he’d need.

Once he had the tourniquet in place making sure to put it on top of Hide’s sleeve so that it wouldn’t pinch, he found a good vein after only a few seconds.

“Oh, this one will do nicely. You ready?” Acchan asked.

“Just do it…” Hide said quietly through clenched teeth.

“I will, but I didn’t want to startle you and make you jump. Just breathe…you’ll hardly feel a thing.”

Acchan cleaned the spot with an alcohol wipe and then picked up the syringe. Just as he was about to insert it, however, he noticed Hide watching him.

“Now Hide…don’t _look_ at it if it bothers you,” the tech said with a chuckle. “Just trust me, okay?”

Hide nodded and then closed his eyes and turned his head. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be childish. I just had some bad experiences with doctors when I was a kid. Had to have IVs a couple of times and they couldn’t find a good vein so they’d dig around…bruised me something terrible. I looked like I’d been beaten.”

“Oh damn, that’s terrible…sorry you had to deal with that. How are you feeling though? Does your hand hurt?”

Hide opened his eyes and flexed his fingers, noticing that the bandages were still clean.

“No, it’s not too bad—I think it’s still numb where the doctor stitched it. Don’t think it’s bleeding anymore though—that’s good,” he answered.

“It _is_ good. Once the local anesthetic wears off it might sting a little. Did the doc give you any prescriptions?” Acchan asked, putting a cotton ball on the spot where the syringe had been. He bent Hide’s arm up to hold it into place.

After leaning back and disposing of the syringe in the sharps container, he taped the cotton in place. “All done,” the tech said with a smile.

“Huh? How? I didn’t even feel…” Hide began, a very surprised look on his face.

“Toldja,” Acchan said and took a smiley face sticker from his cart and pressed it to Hide’s forehead with his thumb. “I’m gooood…” he added with a laugh.

“Damn, you sure are. What did you put on me?” he asked, feeling of his forehead. He pulled the sticker off, giggled, and put it right back. “Am I a good boy or something?” The stickers were clearly used for children.

“At the moment…” Acchan said with a laugh, finishing up his paperwork.

“Listen, the doc said I might have to have a tetanus shot. If I do, will you give it to me?” Hide asked.

“Ummm, sure—I can do that. Want me to call over and ask?”

“Please. I trust you.”

“Alright, let me see what I can find out. Give me a couple of minutes,” Acchan answered and then cleared his things away and went to call.

Hide pulled out his phone and texted Kyo, letting him know he was almost done and apologizing again for being such a pain in the butt.

‘It’s fine don’t worry. I’m entertaining myself ;)’ Kyo texted back.

_‘Oh god, he’s out there flirting with some nurse, no doubt,’_ Hide thought to himself. _‘I’d better get out there and rescue the poor girl…or guy.’_

Acchan returned rather quickly with a sheet of paper.

“Okay, you do need a tetanus shot since there’s no record of the last time you had one. I’ll be able to give it to ya, too. Now…where do you want it?” he asked with a grin.

Hide raised his eyebrows. “What’s my choices?”

“Arm or hip.”

“Which hurts the least?”

“Well, the shot goes in the muscle and it can leave you a bit sore for 24 hours or so. Which do you want to be sore, arm or hip?” Acchan asked.

“Umm…I guess hip will be easier to deal with. Let’s do that,” Hide responded.

“Alrighty, let’s go to the exam room across the hall then,” the tech said, starting to move in that direction. He noticed that Hide hadn’t budged. “Unless you’d like to drop your pants right here…”

Hide’s eyes opened a bit wider. “No, no…the exam room is fine.”

Atsushi chuckled and led his friend over to where there would be more privacy.

“I was just kidding—you don’t have to drop ‘em. Just expose a hip and I can give you the shot.”

“I was about to ask! You said hip, not ass!” Hide said a little louder than he meant to.

Acchan picked up the syringe from the tray he’d been carrying. “Just lean over the exam table there and it’ll be over in a couple of seconds.”

Hide closed his eyes and started to laugh. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“And you can’t help but make something sexual out of everything I say!” Acchan answered with a chuckle. “Tell you what—I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you this injection and try to make it as painless as possible, if…”

“If? If…what?”

“If you’ll agree to go out for a drink with me,” Acchan asked in a low voice.

Hide smiled at the thought. “Wellll…okay. I guess I can agree to that. I am a good boy, after all,” he said, pointing to the sticker on his forehead.

Atsushi looked at him suspiciously. “I very much doubt that.”

After leaving the hospital, Kyo asked Hide how he was feeling and made him promise to take the following day off so that he could rest. He couldn’t use his injured hand anyway, so he may as well take the day off.

“I did pretty well on my own,” Kyo volunteered, smiling broadly. “Got a date for this weekend.”

“Oh? The cute nurse I saw you chatting up out in the waiting room?”

“Yep. His name’s Miyavi. Hot little thing, ain’t he?”

“Uh huh, sure is. Good for you!” Hide answered, getting out of the taxi at his apartment. “We both did pretty well actually…I have a date as well!”

Later that afternoon, Hide was resting on the couch, watching TV and trying to keep his mind off the stinging pain coming from his hand. The pain pills and antibiotics that the doctor had given him sat unopened on the coffee table in front of him. He kept telling himself that if the pain got any worse he’d take one of the pain killers, but he hated the way those things made him feel, so he was putting it off.

He had tried to sneak past Mrs. Suzuki when he’d gotten home from the hospital, but she spotted his bandaged hand from her porch and was immediately all over him like a mother hen. She was only one of the older residents in the apartment block who had “adopted” Hide and made it their business to look after him. He often joked to his friends that he had six obasans and he couldn’t hide a cold from any of them.

It was Mrs. Suzuki who was now knocking on his door to bring him the dinner she had fixed for him.

“Hide-chan…open up, kitten! You need to eat!”

“Coming!” Hide called, dragging his carcass off the couch and shuffling over to the door.

He had no more opened up and said hello than the diminutive little woman who barely reached Hide’s shoulder was past him and in his kitchen, putting the covered dish on the counter.

“It’s my chicken and rice dish that you like so much. Now you eat up and put the rest in the refrigerator, okay?”

“Yes ma’am, I will,” Hide replied with a smile.

“Can you manage with your hand like that?”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll be fine. Thank you so much,” he said, leaning down and kissing her cheek.

“No problem, pet. Now you call me or Mrs. Ito if you need any help with anything, okay? She’ll probably be by to check on you too,” Mrs. Suzuki said, looking concerned.

“I’ll be okay, but thank you. You ladies spoil me,” Hide said with a smile.

Once she’d gone, he dished out some of the delicious smelling food, grabbed a drink from the refrigerator, and got comfortable in front of the TV to have his dinner. Just when he’d nearly finished eating, he heard his text notification go off.

‘Hiya! Thought I’d check up on u! How’s your hand?’ Atsushi asked.

Hide couldn’t help but grin like a teenager. ‘Hey! I’m okay. Hand hurts a bit but I’m surviving. You off work yet?’

‘Oh yeah, I’m already home. Cooking dinner.’

Although he didn’t want to admit it, texting was making his hand hurt worse.

‘Mind if I call? Talking is easier,’ Hide asked.

‘Please do,’ Acchan answered, giving the pot on the stove another stir and replacing the lid. His phone rang almost immediately afterward.

“Hey there! So you cook, huh?” Hide asked.

“Ah well, I do alright. I’m no gourmet, but it’s usually edible. Did you have dinner yet?”

“Just finished, actually. One of my grandmothers brought me dinner and insisted that I eat!” Hide answered with a chuckle. “They’re always trying to feed me. Apparently, I’m too thin.”

Acchan laughed. “Grandmothers always think that! You’re lucky your grandmother lives so close. Mine is miles and miles away.”

“Well…she’s not my actual grandmother—I just call her that. In fact, I have at least six of them living in this one apartment block with me. Older ladies who sort of adopted this poor little pink-headed boy,” he explained with a laugh.

“Aww, that’s nice. You have plenty of people looking after you then.”

“Too many sometimes, I think. I can’t get anything by them, but I never go hungry, that’s for sure!”

“Don’t knock it! I’d love to have a grandmother figure looking after me! I hardly know anyone around here—just the few friends I’ve made at work,” Acchan answered.

“Hang out with me for a while—they’ll adopt you too!” Hide said, figuring it couldn’t hurt to entice the man a little. “So…when did you want to go out for this drink?”

“Whenever you want to! Think you’ll feel up to it tomorrow night? We could grab some dinner and have a few drinks. I get off work at 16:00.”

“Sure, that would be grand. Kyo made me promise to take tomorrow off anyway, so by dinnertime I’ll be ready to get out of the house. Now, where should we go?” Hide asked and after they’d discussed options for a bit, Atsushi’s dinner was ready so they finished their conversation and promised to get in touch after lunch the next day.

Acchan also made Hide promise to take the pain medication before he went to bed so that he could hopefully get a good night’s rest. ‘It’ll keep you awake if you don’t, I promise’ he’d said, so Hide assured him that he would be a good boy and do as he was told.

Just as he was getting comfortable in bed, he heard his text notification go off.

‘Hey! You still up? How’s your hand?’ Kyo asked.

‘Hey—not 2 bad. Pain meds are helping but making me loopy.’

‘Good, but how can u tell the difference?’

Hide chuckled. ‘Jerk.’

‘Sorry, couldn’t resist. You need anything?’

‘Nah, I’m good. Being taken care of.’

‘Okay, good. So you never did tell me who you have a date with,” Kyo queried. He was really happy to hear that his good friend was getting back into the dating scene, but he was extraordinarily curious as to who it was.

‘No, no I didn’t,’ Hide responded simply. He was quite content to let his best friend squirm for a bit.

‘Well??’

‘G’night, Kyo.’


	3. Chapter 3

Getting off the bus and walking the short distance to the agreed-upon restaurant, Hide felt himself getting slightly nervous, though he really didn’t understand why. Acchan had proven himself to be kind and funny, so he knew they’d have a good time together. Besides, Hide found himself extremely attracted to the tall, dark, somewhat mysterious man and he was anxious to learn more about him. It had been a while since he’d been more than casually interested in someone and he was enjoying the feeling.

Looking at his reflection in a store window as he walked past, the pink-haired man again assessed the outfit that he’d chosen.

_‘I hope I look okay. This place we’re going isn’t fancy so I’m thinking jeans and a nice t-shirt will be alright.’_

Hide was usually pretty casual unless the occasion called for something else. He preferred to dress up his normal day to day with jewelry, a bit of eye makeup, and his distinctive hair. And speaking of hair, he had it done up a little more than he usually did for his shifts at the café—spiked up along the top and fanned back on the sides to show the black layer underneath. After checking his hair in the window, he walked on toward the restaurant, smiling at the odd looks he was getting from some of the people he passed.

Atsushi walked toward the appointed meeting place, checking his phone to make sure he wasn’t going to be late. He was really looking forward to this—he hadn’t been out on a date in months—not since he’d moved to town, actually.

_‘There’s something about this guy, such a cutie. I’m betting he can be a real handful too!’_ Acchan thought to himself with a smile as he walked along. He found himself thinking about Hide’s big, expressive eyes and his shapely lips that almost always seemed to be drawn up in a sly little smile.

He also thought about kissing those lips. _‘I’m getting ahead of myself, I know, but I think he might be interested.’_

Just as that thought had crossed his mind, he found himself at the front entrance of the restaurant and not seeing his date, he stepped inside to have a look around. He spotted pink hair at the bar and moved in that direction.

_‘That hair is like a homing beacon,’_ he thought with a chuckle.

Hide, who had been keeping an eye on the door, spotted someone he thought to be Acchan heading his way, so he leaned back on his barstool to get a better look.

_‘Oh damn…yeah, that’s him alright. His hair is down…just look at that…and those fuckin’ tight jeans, oh my god…’_ Hide was thinking to himself as he watched his date walk toward him, a nice smile on that handsome face. He raised his hand to wave, even though he knew the man had spotted him.

“Well, hey there! Almost didn’t recognize you with your hair down,” Hide said with a big, warm smile on his face. “Find the place okay?”

“Oh yeah, you give good directions,” Acchan said, sliding onto the next barstool.

When the bartender came over, Hide ordered a beer and Acchan said he’d have the same.

“So we’ll have a drink first and then eat, okay?” the pink-haired man offered.

“Sure, that’ll work. So how’s the hand today?”

Hide raised and flexed his injured hand. “Not bad. Definitely better than yesterday. The pain pills knock my ass out, so I slept all night and most of the morning,” he added with a laugh.

“Good! All that rest will help it heal faster. How’s your hip?” Acchan asked, taking his beer that had just arrived.

“My hip?” Hide asked.

“Yeah, where I stabbed you with that tetanus shot,” the tall man said with a wink and a chuckle.

“Oh yeah…I’ve got a bone to pick with you about that, Mister. That entire area is sore!” Hide said with an accusatory tone while rubbing the affected spot.

“Hey now…that wasn’t me. I warned you that it’d be sore. That’s the meds, not the actual injection,” Acchan informed him, unable to hold back a grin.

“Oh, so me having a sore ass is funny, is it?”

“Kinda, yeah…don’t let anyone slap ya there for a bit,” the tall man said with a mischievous grin and took a long drink of his beer.

“I’ll keep that in mind…” Hide said in a whispered tone, locking eyes with Acchan as he lifted his drink.

Dinner consisted of some sushi, some tempura, some miso, and lots of sake. While they ate, Acchan explained how he’d come to move to town about six months ago to take a job at the hospital and how he knew very few people in the area. Hide, in turn, told Acchan how he’d lived there for years and was somewhat of a permanent fixture in the rock club scene.

“So you can be my tour guide then,” Acchan announced with a smile.

“Want me to introduce you to some cute girls?” Hide asked, wanting to judge his reaction more than he was being serious.

Acchan frowned at him and shook his head. “No thanks, I’m good. Swore off women a couple of years ago. You?”

“Well, I’m definitely bi but I haven’t dated a woman in…” Hide paused while he counted up the time in his head. “…in four or five years. Generally more trouble than they’re worth, dating-wise. I have lots of gal pals, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“I hear ya. No problem being friends, but I can do without the cattiness. Everything’s a damn competition with women,” Acchan said, shaking his head.

“Oh, speaking of dating—do you know a male nurse at your hospital named Miyavi? Short hair, big smile?” Hide asked.

Acchan chuckled when he heard the name. “Yeah, I know who you’re talking about. He’s quite the looker, but not really my type. Why?”

“Kyo has a date with him sometime this weekend,” Hide responded with a grin.

“Oh? How did that come about?”

“Well, Kyo is the one who brought me to the hospital to get my hand looked at and I guess they got talking while I was back there getting shot with needles and stitched up. Kyo doesn’t waste time,” Hide laughed. “He’s an alright guy though, isn’t he? This Miyavi cat, I mean.”

Acchan nodded. “Yeah, as far as I know. Want me to ask around a bit?”

“Let’s see how the first date goes with them and then if it looks like they’re going to keep seeing each other then I might want you to, yes. Kyo is like a brother to me and I don’t want him getting screwed over.”

“You’re a good friend,” Atsushi said with a smile. “Miyavi does seem like a good guy though. He’s a musician, I think.”

Hide suddenly pointed at Acchan. “There’s the connection! I was wondering how they hit it off so fast and now I know. Kinda surprised I didn’t recognize him though.”

Acchan shrugged and poured more sake for both of them.

“Oh, meant to tell you—I managed to switch schedules with my buddy at work so I’m good to go see Kyo’s band play next Friday,” Acchan informed him.

Hide’s eyes lit up. “Really?! That’s fantastic! I was so hoping you’d be able to go.”

“Me too. So, about wardrobe for this place…you still gonna help me pick out an outfit? I don’t want to overdo it…or underdo it, for that matter!”

“Oh yeah, I’ll help. My clubbin’ clothes are definitely better than this,” he said, pulling at his t-shirt. “So, what shall we do now?” he asked, changing the subject.

Atsushi shrugged again. “Don’t know…whatcha in the mood for?”

Hide gave him a mischievous grin. _‘Don’t ask me that—I’ve been single for too long and those jeans aren’t leaving much to the imagination,’_ he thought, but decided to at least try to be a good boy.

“That we can get away with on a first date?”

Acchan chuckled. “Hmmm…yeah, I suppose we should behave ourselves in public, huh?” he said, but the look in his eyes made Hide wonder if he wasn’t actually game for some naughtiness despite his words.

The pink-haired man felt a flutter in his stomach. “I could get started on my new job as your tour guide. Show you around a bit?”

“Sure, that sounds good. It’s a nice evening for a walk,” the tall, dark man agreed.

Exiting the restaurant, the two men picked a direction and started walking. Hide pointed out several spots that he thought Acchan might be interested in—a market, a movie theater, a popular karaoke bar—and they talked a good bit while they strolled.

“Okay, I have to ask…” Hide started, looking up at Acchan.

The taller man raised his eyebrows. “Uh oh, what is it?”

“The business card you gave me says ‘Freelance Model’, Sakurai-san. Are you still working as a model?” Hide asked.

“Oh, is that all? I was expecting some deeply personal inquiry,” Acchan started with a laugh. “The answer is yes and no. I haven’t done any modeling since I moved here, but I’d still like to. I just need to make some connections in the area.”

“Ah, okay. What kind of modeling have you done?”

Acchan chuckled and pulled out his phone. “I won’t bore you with my portfolio, but here’s a few,” he said, pulling up the correct album in his photos and handing it to his friend.

Hide began to flip through the first few pictures and he was enjoying seeing his date in various trendy outfits and even a very classy suit pic, but it was the one in the leather biker jacket that took his breath and made him have to stop in his tracks.

The photo was only waist up, but it was easy to tell that the jacket was an extremely expensive, designer garment made of soft, black leather. There was no sign of a shirt underneath, but no one missed it. Acchan’s long, straight ebony locks hung down to his biceps and his large, dark eyes were accented by just a touch of black eyeliner. _‘I could happily drown in those eyes,’_ Hide thought as he continued to study the picture. But it was those full, rosy lips that captured and held the pink-haired man’s attention.

“Like that one, do ya?” Acchan asked, bemused at how Hide had become immobile.

“Daaaamn,” Hide whispered, shaking his head slightly. He looked up at Acchan’s face. “Why the hell are you wasting your time at the hospital? You’re fucking gorgeous!”

Acchan smiled warmly at him and bowed his head slightly. “Well thank you, I appreciate that. I like working at the hospital though and I seem to have a knack with children, so they need me.”

Hide realized that what he’d said might not have come out as he’d intended and he blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that like it sounded. Of course that’s important work!”

“I’m glad you like the photos though--I’ll show you more of them later if you’re interested. I have my work portfolio on my computer at home.”

“I’d like that!” Hide answered and wondered to himself what this man’s apartment must look like. “Hey, speaking of apartments—we’re getting fairly close to mine. I have some great beer that I just discovered. Wanna come up and have a few?”

Acchan looked at the time and then agreed. “Sure! I’d like to see where you live!”

Walking up the pathway to the front door of the building, the pink-haired man heard a familiar voice calling after him.

“Hide-chan! How’s your hand, Baby?”

He stopped and looked in the direction of the voice. “Hi, Mrs. Ito! It’s much better today, thank you!” he said, waving his still-bandaged hand in the air.

“Who’s your handsome friend?” the older lady asked, leaning over the porch railing.

“This is Atsushi!” he called back. Turning to Acchan, he said “That’s one of my grandmothers, Mrs. Ito.”

Acchan bowed slightly in her direction. “Hello, Ito-san! Very nice to meet you, ma’am!”

Once they got upstairs, they met another lady in the hallway.

“Evening, Hizaki-san. Are you feeling better?” Hide asked.

“A little. I’m going back to the doctor tomorrow,” she said.

“Okay well, you let me know if you need me to go to the store for you for anything, alright? Promise? You have my phone number, don’t you?”

“Yes Doll, I do. I promise,” the elderly lady said.

After Hide had introduced her to Acchan, they finally made it to his apartment.

“I hope it’s not too messy—I wasn’t expecting visitors,” Hide said, opening the door and walking inside.

Waiting in the living room while Hide retrieved beer from the kitchen, Acchan looked around at the small home which obviously belonged to a bachelor. A few dishes here and there along with a couple of shirts and some socks, but overall not bad.

“Cute little place you got here. Lived here long?” he asked when Hide came in with two cold bottles.

“Oh yeah, about 5 years now. It’s not much, but I like it. Plenty big enough for just me since Riko moved out,” Hide said. _‘Why the fuck did I just say that?’_

“Riko? Roommate?” Acchan asked, taking a drink of his beer.

Hide motioned for him to have a seat on the couch and he plopped down near him. “Actually, he’s my ex. Been gone over a year now.”

Acchan noticed the look on Hide’s face. “Bad breakup?” he asked quietly.

“No, not really. I don’t even know why I brought him up. But yeah, he got a job offer that he just couldn’t turn down even though it was across the country and I just didn’t want to move with him. We weren’t really that serious anyway and I couldn’t see myself leaving my job, my home, and all my friends…and all my obasans," he added with a laugh.

Acchan smiled and nodded. “It’s sweet that you care so much for them. I’ll bet you’re a big help.”

“It’s mutual,” he replied with a grin. “Anytime I’m sick they always bring me food and stay on me about taking my medicine. I help them out whenever I can by running to the store for them or bringing stuff home from the café sometimes.”

“They ever get too much to deal with? Too nosey, I mean,” Acchan asked with a grin.

“Well…they keep a pretty close eye on me so if I happen not to come home one night or if I bring new people around—like you—I’ll get questioned. I don’t get offended though. It’s nice that they care,” Hide answered. “Oh…and the walls can be kinda thin, so I have to watch the noise.”

“You’re lucky. I think I’d have to set off a small explosive in my apartment for any of my neighbors to even know I’m there. Except for the couple of girls that keep hitting on me, that is.” He rolled his eyes and took another drink. “I don’t want to be rude, but…”

“But they ain’t got nothing you’re interested in?” Hide added.

“Exactly. Unlike some others…” Acchan said and then gave Hide the cutest little wink that made the pink-haired man’s stomach flutter again. He took a long drink of his beer to try to summon some courage.

“So, ummm…what is it that you’re interested in, if you don’t mind me asking,” Hide managed to get out but not in the strongest voice he’d ever had.

The tall, dark man slid over just a bit on the couch, moving closer. “Well see, I’ve met this guy. He’s funny, pretty cute, a little naughty, and he has the most amazing hair… I want to get to know him better.”

Hide swallowed hard. “Anyone I know?”

“Mmmm…maybe,” Acchan said, just above a whisper.

As if on cue, Hide’s text notification went off. Annoyed, he pulled his phone from his back pocket and looked at the screen.

“Kyo…what the fuck do you want?” he mumbled, opening the message while Acchan sat back and chuckled.

‘Hey Boo! Hope ur hand is better 2day! Sending u smthng 2 cheer u up!’ the message read and then a picture popped up.

“Oh my god…” Hide mumbled and showed the photo to Acchan who had to laugh. It was a selfie of Kyo and Miyavi in some bar making faces and flashing peace signs.

“Yup, that’s the Miyavi I know,” Acchan said, still laughing.

Hide chuckled and started answering his friend. ‘Hand is much better, thanks! Looks like ur having fun!’ he typed and then hit ‘Send’.

“Let’s send them a picture back—how ‘bout it?!” Acchan said nodding with a mischievous grin.

“’Kay, let’s do it!” Hide agreed.

They leaned closer together and started making faces at the camera with Hide snapping photo after photo until it all dissolved into laughter. He then opened the pictures up so they could choose one to send.

“Oh damn…that one! That’s gotta be it!” Acchan said, pointing and laughing and Hide had to agree. It was the one where Hide was sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes while Acchan made a kissy face and flashed a peace sign.

“Annnnnd Send!” Hide said, making a production out of it.

He also made a mental note to save those photos on his computer as well as his phone. _‘Can’t lose them—too damn cute,’_ he thought as he closed his phone.

“Now, where were we?” Hide asked, hoping to restart the mood that had begun to materialize.

“Oh, I was talking about this crazy-adorable, klutzy guy that I met,” Acchan said, a big grin on his face.

“Oh yeah, that’s right…hey wait, I object to ‘klutzy’,” Hide said, looking indignant.

Acchan reached over and picked up Hide’s bandaged hand and cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”

Hide blushed and pulled his hand away, but couldn’t hold back a smile. “I don’t make a habit outta playing with knives, just so you know.”

“Okay, okay,” Acchan relented and moved in just a little closer. “But I was saying how I want to…” he started but was interrupted by Hide’s text tone again.

Hide’s face fell and he just sighed. “Motherfucker…” he said, deadpan.

Acchan fell back against the couch and burst out laughing. “Timing, baby! I’ll go get us another beer while you answer that,” he said, pushing himself up and grabbing Hide’s empty bottle along with his own.

Hide opened his phone to see what had interrupted them--it was another message from Kyo.

‘Hey! Miyavi says he knows that guy!’

Hide called out to his date in the other room. “Miyavi says he knows you!”

Acchan walked back in with two fresh beers. “Tell him I said I know him too and he better behave,” he responded with a grin.

Hide dutifully texted back to Kyo with Acchan’s message and then closed his phone and tossed it onto the coffee table.

“I have a definite love/hate relationship with technology,” Hide said, taking the bottle being offered by Acchan.

“I hear ya. I feel the same way,” he said, taking a drink and placing the bottle on the table. “I think I’ll silence mine before someone starts texting me too,” Acchan announced, pulling out his phone and flicking the switch to turn the ringer off. He tossed his onto the coffee table next to Hide’s.

Before anything else could interrupt them, Acchan leaned over Hide and, taking the side of the man’s face gently in his hand, he moved in and softly pressed his lips to Hide’s. When he felt acceptance from him, he pressed a little more firmly, holding his place for a few moments and then placing several small kisses on Hide’s willing lips.

A small fireworks show was happening in Hide’s mind as he realized that this man that he found to be so unbelievably gorgeous and sweet was actually kissing him. He let out a little soft moan in spite of himself.

“I hope that wasn’t too forward of me,” Acchan whispered, not having moved very far at all from Hide’s face. “I didn’t want to get interrupted again.”

“Mmm…no, not at all…” Hide cooed, eyes still closed. “Do that again.”

Acchan gave a breathy little chuckle and closed the space between them, pressing their lips together with a little more conviction now that he had permission. Their kisses became more intense as the moments passed, each wanting to taste more of the other. It was Hide who took things to another level when he tested Acchan’s lips with his tongue, asking for and gaining entry into that hot, wet mouth. As his tongue explored, he heard and felt Acchan moan softly in that deep voice that he possessed.

Hands began to explore each other’s bodies tentatively, obstructed by too much fabric, but allowing it for the moment. Hide could feel that Acchan’s back and side were being stretched in the position they were sitting in, so he coaxed the man into straddling him as they continued to kiss deeply.

_‘First date, first date…behave yourself, Hide,’_ the pink-haired man kept telling himself, but all he really wanted to do was to tear the clothes off this tall, sexy man and have his way with him. It had been way too long and he was feeling every day of it right about now. He gripped those shapely thighs and ran his hands up and down, feeling the muscle underneath the denim.

Acchan’s hands were busy playing with Hide’s hair and neck as he was taking his turn exploring Hide’s mouth with his eager tongue. What the pink-haired man was doing to his thighs was resulting in another part of his anatomy being affected and those tight jeans were getting tighter by the moment. In fact, it was becoming unbearable and Acchan had to stop.

“Oooh, okay…I gotta change position,” he told Hide in a breathless whisper once he’d broken the kiss. “These jeans are killing me.”

“Should’ve worn your scrubs,” Hide whispered while grinning.

“Oh yes, that would make a great impression on a first date, wouldn’t it?” Acchan said with a chuckle as he moved off of Hide’s lap onto the couch, readjusting the offending tight pants.

“I’d let you borrow some track pants, but they’d be about 5” too short!” Hide quipped.

Acchan shook his head and laughed. “You’re not _that_ much shorter than me…I just don’t think my big ass would fit!”

“Please…you have a nice ass…from what I’ve seen, I mean. And yes, I’ve studied it,” Hide replied with a wink.

“Oh have you now?” the dark man asked, eyebrow raised.

Hide picked up his beer and took a drink. “Mmm, yes. High and tight. Very nice.”

Acchan chuckled and picked up his beer. “Well…thank you, I’m sure. Hope you get to see more of it then.”

“Okay you…you keep on and we’re gonna end up doing something we may or may not regret,” Hide said with a sly grin. Atsushi returned the grin and added an eyebrow waggle that made those butterflies in Hide’s stomach flutter again.

Before they could get themselves into trouble though, a knock came at the door.

Hide tilted his head, a questioning look on his face. “It’s a bit late for any of my neighbors to be calling. Wonder who’s at the door?” He stood up and made his way over to answer it, pausing to readjust his clothes.

Looking through the peephole, he spotted someone he’d rather not see right now, but he couldn’t bring himself to be rude and ignore her. After rolling his eyes and groaning quietly, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, forcing himself to smile.

“Mika…hi! Your grandmother okay?”

“Hi! Oh yeah, she’s just fine. She told me that you’d hurt your hand, though. You okay?”

He held up his bandaged hand and smiled. “Yup, it’s good. Just a small cut, really.”

“Oh good. Hope you don’t mind me dropping by. I saw your light on and figured you were still up,” the girl said, giving him a warm smile.

“No problem. Yeah, I’ve got a friend over so I’m definitely still awake. I appreciate your concern though—that’s sweet of you,” he said with a smile, trying to be nice without giving her the wrong impression.

Acchan was trying not to be nosey, but when the female voice he heard was much younger than he’d expected, he just had to catch a glimpse. Getting up and walking toward the kitchen, he carried their nearly-empty beer bottles as an excuse to pass by the front door on the way into the kitchen.

Hide noticed Mika’s eyes widen at something she saw behind him so he turned slightly and saw his handsome date walking toward them.

“Mika, this is my friend, Atsushi. Atsushi, Mika. She’s Ito-san’s granddaughter.”

Acchan smiled at the girl. “Nice to meet you!” He then turned to Hide. “Did you want another?” he asked, indicating the bottle in his hand.

“Oh yeah, sure. Grab us a snack while you’re in there,” Hide said, trying to drop a hint to the girl.

Once Acchan had gone into the kitchen, Mika whispered, “He’s cute.”

“Isn’t he though? First date,” he answered, giving her a wink and dropping a hint with a sledgehammer.

“Oh…oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize!” Mika said, suddenly sounding flustered. “Have a good time—I’ll see you later!” she said and left quickly, seemingly embarrassed.

Hide closed the door, chuckling and shaking his head. “Wonder if she got the hint this time?” he mumbled under his breath as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Hmm?” Acchan asked, trying to act like he hadn’t been listening.

“Oh…nothing. Mika is a nice girl and I wouldn’t hurt her feelings for anything, but she just doesn’t seem to get it that I’m not interested. I hope her grandmother isn’t encouraging her,” Hide replied, taking the offered bottle from his date.

“She seems nice, but I understand where you’re coming from. If you’re not interested you’re not interested.”

“She thinks you’re cute,” Hide said with a grin before taking a drink.

“Oh does she now? Did you really want a snack or were you just saying that for her benefit?” Acchan asked, changing the subject.

Hide made a show of looking his date up and down with the most mischievous smile on his lips. “Well…”

The taller man chuckled. “You need to quit. You think I shag on the first date? What kind of boy do you take me for?” he protested, but there was a definite glimmer in his eyes despite the words that came out of his mouth.

Hide closed the short distance between them and pinned Acchan against the counter. “Oh please, don’t be so precious,” he whispered before capturing the man’s lips in a sweet kiss. One kiss led to another and then another.

“How about on second dates?” the pink-haired man whispered, moving from Acchan’s lips to his neck.

Moving his head to allow Hide better access, Acchan chuckled softly. “Hmmm…we’ll see.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So very sorry for taking six weeks to update this one! The muses haven't been cooperating until now! So here we go--strap in for some tooth-rotting fluff!

A couple of days later saw Hide back at work as usual, his hand having healed enough to be useful.

“Hey Crip’…you know your boy was in here yesterday morning…he just got his coffee to go, though. Guess there wasn’t anything to keep him here,” Hiro said with a smirk.

“Oh, was he now?” Hide replied, knowing that he’d regret encouraging Hiro.

“Yup, looked like a lost puppy. I almost asked him out myself, I felt so bad for him,” Hiro quipped with a growing smirk.

Hide stopped what he was doing and stuck a hand on a hip. “You should have!”

Hiro raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yeah, I’m sure the others would’ve been quite amused at watching you get shot down in flames…”

Kyo gave a little cough that said ‘not in front of the customers’ as he walked by to reach the register.

Hiro just chuckled and turned back to what he was doing. Hide did as well, but couldn’t resist making the sound effects of an old time fighter plane coming in to crash, complete with hand gestures to accompany it.

“Eooowwwww….BOOM!”

Kyo coughed louder.

Hiro laughed and patted Hide on the shoulder as he passed. “I missed you, Pinky.” The pink-haired man just rolled his eyes and continued to froth milk for the latte he was working on.

Once the line had died down, Kyo stepped away from the register and started toward his office. “Hide? Join me in the back when you get finished, please.” With that, he turned and headed down the short hallway.

Hide raised his eyebrows in surprise, but nodded and followed his friend to the office after he’d served his customer and closed the pastry case.

_‘Okay, surely he’s not upset about me and Hiro playing around…’_ he thought to himself as he walked in and closed the door behind him. Kyo was on the phone, so Hide took a seat and waited for him to be free.

Once he’d finished his call, Kyo looked up at Hide. “What’s wrong?” the blonde asked, noticing the slightly worried expression on his friend’s face.

“Just wondering if you were upset with me for something. You know Hiro and I were just joking around like we always do.”

“Huh? No…I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Nakamura-san and he’s going to let me add two and half days of sick pay to your next check to cover you being out.”

“Oh? That’s amazing…thank you,” Hide responded, looking relieved. Kyo knew how tight his friend’s finances usually were and losing too much pay could seriously affect his ability to pay his bills.

“No problem. Glad to do it.” Kyo sat back in his chair and lit up a cigarette, offering one to Hide as well. “So, tell me…how’d the date go the other night?” he asked with grin.

“Good…it went really good. How about yours?”

A sly smile began to cross Kyo’s face. “Umm, well…I had trouble sitting down the next day if that gives you a clue.”

Hide chuckled. “You slut. Tell me everything,” he said, leaning forward to put his elbows on the desk.

Kyo let out a low whistle and shook his head. “That boy…” he began and proceeded to tell his best friend all the important details about his first date with Miyavi.

“Well, Acchan and I managed to control ourselves slightly better than you two did, but believe me, the intent is there. I’m kinda hoping to deflower him on our next date, to be honest,” Hide admitted with a grin and a chuckle.

“Tell me he’s not a virgin when it comes to men,” Kyo said, eyebrows raised.

“Oh I highly doubt that. Like…very highly. But I’ll tell you this: if he is, he’s a damn gung-ho one.” Hide stopped and thought while he took a long draw off his second cigarette. “No, there’s no way. He was way too comfortable with me.”

“That’s good. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for on the job training. Give me a man that knows his way around,” Kyo remarked with a laugh.

“Oh, I don’t know. For Acchan, I’d train him if need be. He’s really something else…” Hide said, getting that somewhat dreamy look in his eyes that Kyo found adorable.

“Someone’s infatuated.”

“Oh hush,” Hide said with a grin as he pulled his phone out of his apron having felt it vibrate. “Speak of the devil.”

It seems that Atsushi had come in to the café looking for Hide and his morning coffee and couldn’t seem to find his pink-haired boy.

‘Hey! Where are you? I thought you were working today? I’m in the café but don’t see you,’ he texted.

“He’s here—I’m gonna go talk to him before he has to go to work, k?” Hide sort of half told/half asked his boss.

“Oh yeah—go!” Kyo replied with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Hide trotted out to the counter and finally saw the tall, dark man standing over at one of the windows holding his coffee in one hand and watching the phone in his other. Since Hide couldn’t easily get to him through the line and couldn’t carry his still-lit cigarette through the dining area, he resorted to texting.

‘I’m here. Look up,’ he wrote and then waited. Waving and smiling when Acchan finally looked in his direction, he motioned for him to follow him out back.

“Hey, Sexy,” he said from his place on the bench when Acchan made it out to the break area.

“Hey yourself,” the dark man said in way too sultry a voice for the morning hour and leaned in, stealing a kiss. “Where were you?”

“In Kyo’s office--we were just talking over a few things. Sorry about that. Glad I didn’t miss you!”

“Oh, it’s fine. First thing that occurred to me was that you were having trouble with your hand and had to call out again. It’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Yup. Almost as good as new—don’t worry. So, you working your regular shift today?” Hide asked.

Acchan nodded. “I do have some news though,” he added with a smile, taking the offered cigarette.

“Do tell.”

“Well, you know I’ve been looking for a modeling agency, right?” He paused while Hide nodded. “I have an interview with one in two days. It’s a big one too. They liked my online portfolio and want to interview me in person!”

Hide could see the excitement on his face. “Great! Hopefully we’ll have something else to celebrate Friday night then!”

“Something else?” Acchan asked, wondering if he was forgetting something.

“Yeah…hopefully you getting hired by the agency and our second date!”

“Oh yes! Of course!” he said with a big smile and a chuckle. “I’m still excited about that. At least I’ll look good when I meet a bunch of your friends. I have to get my face, hair, and nails done before the interview.”

Hide raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You that high maintenance?”

Acchan nodded. “Have to be. I haven’t worked as a model in several months. I need a facial, a manicure, and a good conditioning treatment on my mop,” he said, pointing to the slightly messy man bun he had going on. “These people are kinda big time. If I can get in with them I’ll hopefully get a lotta work.”

Hide gave him a proud smile. “I don’t know how they could possibly turn you down, you know that.”

“You’re just a bit biased, I think, but thank you,” Acchan said, leaning over and giving him another quick kiss. “Oh, how did Kyo and Miyavi’s date go? Did he say?”

Hide started giggling. “Yeah…be sure you tell that Miyavi cat what a shameless slut he is when you see him!”

Acchan developed a wicked grin. “Give me the dirt…”

After what felt to Hide to be a month, Friday finally arrived. His shift at work seemed to drag by endlessly as he waited to head home and start getting ready for his night out.

After seeing the results of Acchan’s facial and hair treatment, Hide began to think that maybe, just maybe, he could use a spruce up as well. After all, he did have an image to maintain and he couldn’t very well let his date outshine him too much.

_‘Everyone at the club is going to be looking at him anyway…I can’t look like an old feed bag slung over his arm,’_ Hide had thought to himself on Thursday morning as he stared into the mirror while getting ready for work. _‘The hair is okay, but my face…’_ he worried.

Upon arriving at work, he would enlist the help of Mei who agreed to go shopping with him for some facial products right after their shift. It took about two hours, but Hide at last went home with facial wash, exfoliator, moisturizer, a brightening mask, and even a little under eye concealer. Mei was kind enough to send him home with some notes about which to use when, so he felt pretty confident. That evening, he even sat and talked to Acchan on the phone while wearing the treatment mask though he was quite thankful that the man couldn’t see him.

So on Friday, Hide rushed to get home so that he could get a shower, do his hair, pack his clubbing clothes and makeup and meet up with Acchan at the man’s apartment to help him get ready.

_‘I still don’t know why he thinks he needs my help—he’s the model. I’m sure he knows how to dress for a club,’_ Hide thought to himself as he walked from the bus stop up to Acchan’s apartment building. _‘I just hope he’s decently clothed when I get up there or we might not even make it to the club,’_ the pink-haired man mused to himself, a mischievous grin crossing his face at the thought of Atsushi in nothing but a towel.

Reaching the door of apartment 1025, Hide suddenly stopped and checked his phone again to make sure he was at the right door. _‘All I need is to knock on the wrong door,’_ he thought to himself. Once he was satisfied that he had the correct one, he knocked and waited, a wave of nerves coming over him.

_‘What the hell is wrong with me? I’m never nervous like this,’_ he thought, fiddling with the drawstrings on his jacket while he waited for Acchan to answer the door. At last, he heard locks being turned and the door was pulled open to reveal a yukata-clad Acchan.

“Hey, you made it! Come in,” he said brightly, standing aside for Hide to walk in.

“Hey! Yeah, I thought I knew where this apartment block was when you told me the name. I haven’t been up this way in a couple of years though. Nice looking place,” Hide said with a smile, taking a quick look around.

“Yeah, it’s not bad. At least it’s quiet around here. Either the walls are thick or my neighbors are church mice. I never hear anyone,” Acchan said with a smile, leaning in to give his guest a light kiss which was readily accepted.

“So, I brought my clothes and makeup and stuff with me like I said I would. Get too many weird looks on the bus dressed like that in the middle of the afternoon,” the pink-haired man said with a chuckle. “Have you decided on an outfit yet?”

“I have some options picked out--I laid them all out on the bed. Go through and see what you think. It’s the last door on the left. I have to get something from the kitchen,” he said with a smile, disappearing through the doorway behind him.

Hide made his way down the shortish hallway and into the only bedroom, noticing how much nicer his friend’s place was than his own. His bedroom furniture matched, he actually had rugs on the hardwood floors, and there was nice, framed art on the wall.

_‘Why do I suddenly feel that I’m out of my league?’_ he thought as he sat his bag down next to the bed and began to look at the outfits that Acchan had laid out. There were basic jeans in black and another pair in a medium blue, a pair of black pants with multiple straps featuring silver buckles, and what appeared to be black leather pants still on their hanger and covered in a clear dry cleaner’s bag. Just as Hide was about to get a closer look, Acchan came in carrying two filled glasses.

“So…a little champagne to celebrate while we get ready,” he said with a big, goofy grin on his face.

Hide’s eyes opened wider. “You got the modeling gig?” he asked, a definite hopeful tone in his voice.

“I got it!” Acchan announced and did a little happy dance as he handed a glass to his friend.

“Yes! Congratulations, Handsome! I knew you’d get it!” Hide replied, genuinely excited for him. “Okay then, a toast!” he said, lifting his glass in Acchan’s direction. “To the hottest new model in town—may he remember us little people when he’s prowling the cat walks in Milan and New York!”

Atsushi laughed, but lifted his glass anyway. “Okay, you might be getting ahead of me there…I’m not quite to _that_ level, but thank you! And yes, I’ll always remember my friends!” he said with a big smile, clinking glasses with Hide and then taking a long sip of bubbly.

“Whew…I see what they mean about the bubbles getting up your nose,” the pink-haired man observed. “So, champagne a regular thing for you or just special occasions?”

“Oh, just special occasions. I bought this on the way home from work.”

“I was about to say…don’t get too far over my head now, okay?” Hide said with a chuckle. “Now, about these outfits…”

He picked up a couple of different shirts and tried them with the black jeans and the pants with the straps. “I like these pants—very bondage-esque,” he said, referring to the multitude of straps. “You got a collar to go along with them?” he asked with a wink.

“Mmmm…maybe,” the man replied, being coy. “Play your cards right and maybe you’ll find out,” he said, returning the wink.

Hide allowed himself momentarily to picture his date in those strappy pants, barefoot, bare chested, with a black leather collar around that pretty neck. He felt himself beginning to react and shook his head to try to regain some focus.

“I’ll hold you to that,” was all he would allow himself to say.

Very soon after, he had assembled an outfit for Acchan consisting of the black jeans with rips down the thighs and at the knees, a white sleeveless shirt, a waist-length black jacket, and short boots. Add a little jewelry here and there and the look was complete.

“Okay, try all this on together and let’s see how it looks. I’ll get dressed in the bathroom while you change in here, cool?” Hide asked.

“Sure, that’ll work. See you in a few minutes!” Atsushi replied with a smile. “Oh, meant to ask. Are you wearing any makeup tonight?”

“Yeah, a little. Mostly eye makeup. You?”

“I was going to, but I wanted to see what you were doing. Okay, eyeliner it is then.”

Once they were both dressed, they met back up in the bedroom to finish getting ready. Hide had stopped in the doorway and just watched Acchan for a couple of minutes.

“Wow…you look amazing,” he said, moving over to his date to get a closer look.

With the boots on, Acchan was about six inches taller than Hide—a fact that was made readily obvious when the pink-haired man stood in front of him and had to really look up into his face.

“I can put on some flat shoes,” Atsushi offered, wondering if the height difference was going to be an issue.

“No, no…you’re just fine as you are. I like my men tall and willowy,” Hide said with a smile.

“Do I qualify as ‘willowy’?” Acchan asked with a chuckle.

“Oh yes…for sure,” he answered, stretching up and placing a kiss on the other man’s full, rosy lips.

That kiss led to another…and another…and another.

“Okay, we better stop here or we’re not going to make it to the club,” Hide said rather breathlessly. “Let’s get going or I might just throw you onto that rather inviting-looking bed there.”

The two men had gotten off the bus and were walking the last block or so to the club, when Hide started seeing people he knew. Everyone was headed for Live Wire.

“Looks like they’re gonna have a good crowd tonight,” he said. “Hope so—they’re really a good band.”

“I’m excited to see them, though knowing Kyo as a café manager it’s hard for me to picture him on stage singing,” Acchan chuckled.

“Yeah…I know what you mean, but he really does have the personality for it. He’s good with the audience.”

“Fabulous—can’t wait to hear them.” He paused and looked over at his date. “You look really great tonight, by the way. Did I say that already?”

Hide felt himself blush slightly. “Yeah, you did…but I don’t mind hearing it again. Thank you,” he said, looking down at his black tour shirt that had been ‘custom ragged’ as he called it and his black jeans. He had a couple of necklaces on as well as earrings and a multitude of bracelets.

Finally getting inside the live house, Hide and Acchan made their way to the bar to get the first of what would be many drinks that night. Along the way, Hide introduced his date to various members of the Live Wire staff as well as several friends they ran into inside.

Eventually, they met up with the others from the café who had come out to support Kyo. Counting Hide and Acchan, there ended up being at least twelve who formed a little knot of people right in front of the stage, waiting for the band to start.

Hide and his date were already two beers and three shots in when Kyo finally made a quick appearance to thank his friends for coming out before the show started.

“Hey! You made it!” the blonde said to Acchan after spotting him sitting next to Hide at the high top table.

“Oh yeah, I wasn’t going to miss this!” the tall, dark man said back, trying to raise his voice enough to be heard over the background music.

“You look different out of scrubs!” Kyo observed with a smile, glancing toward Hide and wagging his eyebrows.

“And you look different out of your apron!” Acchan said loudly with a laugh which Kyo returned.

He did, too. Most days at work, Kyo was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, hair pulled back or mostly hidden underneath a bandana, and an apron on. Nothing fancy but always clean and presentable. His stage wardrobe consisted of tight, black pants, a purple silk shirt open more than halfway down his chest, a studded collar around his neck, a black fedora perched at an angle on his light blonde head, and more bracelets and earrings that one could count at a quick glance. All that and of course the obligatory dramatic eye makeup. He looked every bit the rock star, Acchan thought.

“He looks amazing,” Atsushi said, leaning over to Hide so that he could hear once Kyo had moved on to the next table. “I wouldn’t think he was the same person.”

“I know, right?!” Hide responded with a laugh. “Wait till you hear them!”

Several minutes later with showtime looming, Kyo came rushing back over pulling someone along behind him.

“Hey guys! Is it cool if Miyavi sits with you? He doesn’t really know many people here,” he asked, primarily looking at Hide and Acchan.

Hide nodded. “Of course! We’ll take care of him—go!” he said with a smile, seeing the expression on his friend’s face.

“Thank you!” Kyo said and gave Miyavi a quick kiss, leaving him with his friends and hurrying backstage.

Tarelyn snatched a barstool from the next table and plunked it down in between himself and Acchan, motioning with a smile for the newcomer to sit.

Acchan leaned over to him. “Hey! I know you! How’s it goin’?”

Miyavi perched on the stool and sat his beer down on the table. “Sakurai--hey! It’s goin’ good!” He paused for a moment and then lifted an eyebrow. “Damn, you look different!”

Acchan laughed. “Have you met Hide?”

Miyavi bowed slightly and smiled. “Not officially. Kyo’s told me all about you, though. Nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s all lies, I swear. Kyo has no evidence to back him up,” Hide said deadpan, shaking his head.

“He’s a nutcase, ignore him,” Acchan said with a grin and was about to say something else when the house lights finally dimmed and the spotlights popped on fully revealing the stage complete with a huge backdrop that had the D’erlanger logo emblazoned on it. A big cheer went up as drummer Tetsu trotted out and seated himself behind his kit followed by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. Lastly, Kyo confidently strode out to centerstage growling into his mic.

“Live Wire! Are you alive?!” he screamed and lifted his arms into the air waiting for a response from the capacity crowd. This went on two or three more times until the audience was sufficiently pumped up and then the band launched into their first song.

In between sets, Atsushi decided it was his turn to get the drinks in, so he told Hide to keep his seat and he made his way up to the nearby bar and ordered two more beers and two more shots.

Hide stayed and talked with Miyavi, Mei, and Tarelyn at the table while they waited for Kyo to come out. After several minutes though, the pink-haired one began to wonder what had happened to his date as the bar hadn’t looked all that busy when he’d gone over.

Turning to look, he searched the area over but didn’t see Acchan right away. Just as Hide was about to get up to go look for him, two of his “chic friends” as he called them walked up and slipped arms around his waist.

“Hide, baby…who’s the 7ft. tall supermodel you came in with? You’re going to introduce us, right?” asked Yume.

“Oh, hi girls. I should’ve known you’d be over,” Hide responded, getting a good look at exactly who was handling him. “Well, to be honest, no…I hadn’t planned on it.”

“Awww, but why? He’s such a handsome thing…is he new around here?” Misaki asked, continuing to paw at the pink-haired man.

Hide looked over at his friends across the table and caught Mei rolling her eyes at the two girls. He chuckled to himself and then gently lifted the invading hands off of his person.

“Now girls…you know that isn’t gonna work on me. You know I don’t play for your team,” he said with a grin and a chuckle. “And I wasn’t going to introduce you because he’s my _date_ …so I’d appreciate it if you kept your paws _off_ , okay?”

Yume and Misaki pouted a bit and then went off to find someone else to hang on. Tarelyn and Miyavi were somewhat impressed by how easily Hide sent the two girls on their way. After all, they were quite attractive and clearly ready to go.

“Groupie slags,” Mei mumbled but everyone at the table heard her. The boys all had a good laugh at that.

“Supermodel, huh? They’d be quite disappointed to find out that our dear Atsushi is merely a lab tech, wouldn’t they?” Miyavi added with a laugh.

Hide was now standing on the foot rungs of his barstool, trying to find Acchan in amongst the crowd at the bar. He finally spotted him working his way back through all the bodies in his way.

“Huh?” he asked, realizing that Miyavi had said something.

“I was saying they’d be disappointed to hear that he’s not a model,” the musician repeated.

“But he is…hasn’t worked since he moved from Kyoto, but he just got hired by a local agency. I’ll get him to tell you about it,” he said just as Acchan made it back to the table at last.

“Damn…that’s a mass of humanity to try to carry drinks through,” he said, putting down the bottles and shotglasses on the table and plopping onto his barstool. “Tell who about what?”

Hide grinned. “I kinda let your news slip about the agency hiring you.”

“Oh. Well yeah, I heard back from them at lunchtime today. My first shoot is next week,” the tall, dark man said, sliding one beer and one shot over to his date.

“Seriously?! That’s incredible—congratulations!” Miyavi said, patting Acchan on the shoulder.

“Yeah, congratulations!” Mei began. “Which agency? I didn’t know there were active modeling agencies around here.”

“It’s the Kawamura Agency—they’re pretty big time in the Tokyo area. I was lucky to manage to catch their attention,” Acchan responded, raising his shotglass to clink with Hide’s after which they both downed the contents.

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” Hide said, winking at his date and placing his glass upside down on the table.

“There’s that bias again,” Acchan responded. “But thank you, babe.”

They all talked among themselves until Kyo finally made an appearance, placing a kiss firmly on Miyavi’s lips as soon as he arrived. Everyone told him how great they thought the first set went and ho

how good he sounded, etc., etc. He graciously accepted their compliments and then took Miyavi off with him for a little alone time before it was time for the next set.

Atsushi took a few long drinks of his beer and then suddenly remembered something. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a white scrap of paper and looked at it momentarily.

“Whatcha got?” Hide asked, being curious and leaning over toward him.

“Oh just something some guy at the bar who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer stuck into my pocket. You know some blonde guy named Akira?” Acchan asked, carelessly tossing the paper onto the table in Hide’s direction.

Hide immediately rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Oh yeah… _everyone_ knows Akira. About my height, bleach blonde, crazy-looking eyes?”

Acchan chuckled and nodded. “That’s him.”

Hide picked up the paper and turned it toward Tarelyn and Mei. “Akira strikes again.”

They both had a similar reaction to Hide’s. “Oh yeah, that one is a predator. Hits on everything with a pulse,” Tarelyn responded.

Hide stuffed the unsolicited phone number into his pocket and stood up. “Let’s go have a smoke. I need to stretch my legs,” he said to Acchan and waited for him to unfold his long legs from the barstool and join him.

Heading across the live house toward the well-used smokers’ porch, he introduced several more friends to his date. Hide really did know everybody, Atsushi mused to himself.

The porch was no different. As soon as they walked out the door, calls of ‘Hide-chan’ came from all corners and the man raised a hand and gave a wave to everyone as he and Acchan headed for a vacant spot on the railing.

“Mr. Popular, aren’t ya?” Atsushi asked with a chuckle, running a hand down Hide’s bicep.

“Eh, I tend to stand out in a crowd. It’s the neon hair,” he replied with a laugh.

“I think it’s more than that,” Acchan said with a wink, offering a smoke to his date. Hide simply shrugged and smiled.

“You having a good time so far?” Hide asked as he leaned in to light his cigarette.

“Oh yeah, definitely! I feel like I haven’t been out in forever. Feels good to do something besides work and watch TV or surf the internet.”

“I couldn’t stand that. If I didn’t have a social life I’d probably just dry up and blow away,” Hide responded with a serious note in his voice. “Did you go out a lot in Kyoto or were you a homebody there too?”

Acchan laughed lightly. “I went out more when I was a bit younger. I’m not really a homebody by choice here, ya know. I just don’t know anyone really and didn’t know where to go. I like my apartment, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want to be stuck there.”

“I wouldn’t mind being stuck there with you for a while,” Hide quietly commented before taking another long draw of his cigarette.

“Oh?” Acchan asked with a sly smile.

“Hmm? Did I say that out loud?”

“You did.”

Hide gave his date his best alluring smile and placed his hand over Acchan’s that was resting on the rail. Despite the many drinks, he could feel his nerves starting to get the best of him again. _‘Forge ahead,’_ he told himself and took an audible deep breath.

“Well, I just meant that I really want to get to know you better and spend some time with you and I feel like somewhere like your apartment would be a great place to do it…uh, get to know you, I mean,” he said rather more quickly than he had meant to but it was done now.

Acchan gave him a sweet smile and turned his hand over to grasp Hide’s.

“Are you getting shy on me?”

Hide shrugged slightly.

“Why? You’re clearly the most popular guy here other than the band.”

Hide shrugged again. “These fuckers around here don’t count,” he replied with an amused look. “Look, I really like you and I really don’t want to screw this up.”

“What makes you think you’ll screw it up? You know I like you—I think I’ve made that abundantly clear,” Atsushi responded with a waggle of his eyebrows.

The pink-haired one closed the short distance between their mouths and placed a soft kiss on Acchan’s full lips. The tall man seemed a little surprised but didn’t pull away.

“You’re gonna get us in trouble,” he whispered after Hide moved away slightly.

“Nah…nobody cares. As long as you don’t get to the ‘get a room’ stage, the staff won’t say anything. I have seen people get that bad though—having to be called out by the manager,” Hide replied with a laugh.

“Do they pick on same sex couples?” Acchan asked. He’d had experience with that kind of discrimination before.

“Honestly, no. They’ll tell a regular couple to knock it off just as fast as they’ll say something to same sex ones. Like I said, as long as you don’t get carried away, nobody gives a shit.”

“Well in that case,” Acchan whispered and then sweetly kissed his date a couple of times.

Not long after, they heard the intro music coming from inside signaling that the next set was about to start.

“Oops, gotta go,” Hide said, turning and beginning to head toward the door, still holding Acchan’s hand. Before they got inside though, they happened to run into a certain blonde.

“Hey, Akira!” Hide called out, causing the other man to look up. “I’ve got something of yours.”

Akira stepped over closer to the couple, boldly looking Atsushi up and down like he was lunch. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Hide simply said and leaned forward a bit, stuffing the slip of paper into Akira’s front jeans pocket. “You might need that for someone else. He’s with me.”

The blonde shrugged and gave Acchan a sly smile. “If that’s what you like…come find me if you change your mind.”

“Not likely,” the tall man said and resumed heading for the door with Hide right behind him. “Pushy creep,” he said to his date once they were a few steps away.

“If he bothers you again, just let me know,” the pink-haired man said.

“No worries—I can take care of myself. I’ve had enough experience with slimeballs like him.”

“Well, if you’re going to castrate him—verbally or literally—make sure I’m around so I can film it!” Hide responded with a laugh.

Once the band had finished their encore and the house lights had come back up, everyone from the café was chatting about where to go next.

“You hungry?” Hide asked his date, hoping he’d say ‘yes’.

“No…I’m to the point of starving now, I think,” Acchan said with a grin when he saw Hide’s face first fall and then break into a big smile.

“Oh good, cause I am too! There’s this little all-night ramen shop that we usually go to when we leave here. You down? Food’s good and it’s cheap,” Hide replied.

“Lead on, babe,” Acchan said with a wink, ready to keep the fun happening.

En masse, they all burst out onto the street and starting walking toward their favorite after-club food spot. All laughing and talking loudly since everyone had been temporarily deafened by D’erlanger’s speaker stacks, Acchan and Hide walked along hand in hand not giving a toss for what anyone on the street thought.

_‘I have so missed this,’_ Atsushi thought, smiling at Hide’s friends and co-workers who were all around them. _‘I need to take Hide back to Kyoto with me and we can go out with some of my friends there.’_ He made a mental note to plan a weekend trip sometime soon.

After another block or so, Hide acted like he suddenly remembered something.

“Hey Hiro!” he called out rather loudly to the young man who was walking on the other side of Atsushi.

“What, Pinky?”

“Remind me…what was it you said about Acchan here the other day?” Hide asked.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Hiro asked, sincerely not remembering what his friend was referring to.

Acchan looked down at Hide with questioning look, but he saw the mischief in his eyes.

“You remember—it was while I was out,” he said and paused for effect. He wanted to make sure everyone was listening. “Let’s see, it was something to the effect of ‘your handsome boy was in yesterday but he didn’t hang around. Looked like a lost puppy—I almost asked him out myself’. Isn’t that right?” Hide couldn’t be sure in the dim light, but he was almost positive that Hiro was blushing.

Hiro laughed nervously and just kept walking, not wanting to make eye contact with Hide and certainly not with Acchan.

“Awww, is that right? Aren’t you just the sweetest?” Atsushi said, leaning over to the man walking beside him and planting a comically big kiss on Hiro’s cheek.

The group erupted in laughter as Hiro tried to decide what to do with that.

“Watch that now…you’re awfully pretty, even if you are a man,” Hiro said, figuring his best strategy was to shock them right back.

“Oooooh, you switching teams there, Hiro?” Hide asked, still laughing.

“You never know,” Hiro answered just as they reached the doors of the restaurant. He turned to address the group. “Okay now, listen up all you drunk geeks. Let’s keep it down in here this time. Don’t wanna get thrown out like last time.”

“Shut it, Hiro.” “Yeah, yeah…whatever.” “Out of the way, big mouth.”

“Okay…all I’m saying is that I don’t have bail money, alright?” Hiro said and pulled the door open.

“Bail? Is he serious?” Atsushi asked Hide quietly.

“No, no he’s not,” the pink-haired man responded, shaking his head. “Let’s eat.”

Hide and Acchan took one side of a booth, Hide allowing his date to sit on the outside so that his long legs would have room. Hiro ended up on the outside of the next booth facing Acchan. More than once during their stay, Atsushi took the opportunity to wink and kiss at Hiro who seemed to get caught off guard each time.

Underneath the table, Hide and Acchan’s hands weren’t still as thighs were getting groped and knees squeezed. When they’d just about finished their meals, Hide leaned over to his date and whispered, “I love hanging out with my friends but it’s time we were alone, don’t you think?”

Acchan gave Hide a look that made the butterflies in his stomach flutter and his pulse race. “I’m ready any time you are,” he whispered back, his hot breath making the hair on the back of Hide’s neck stand up.

Within five minutes the couple was out of the restaurant and walking toward the bus stop. They could have walked the rest of the way to Acchan’s place, but they agreed to conserve some energy for whatever mischief they managed to get into once they got there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know...I make you wait six weeks and then I cut you off. Next chapter is already in the works and will be up soon! Naughty boys... ;)


End file.
